


been down this road more than twice (Every Day Is a Winding Road)

by Fluffypanda



Category: Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Age Regression/De-Aging, Diners, Gen, Howard Stark's A+ Parenting, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, POV Tony Stark, Road Trips, Team as Family, Tony-centric
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-12
Updated: 2018-05-12
Packaged: 2019-05-05 15:23:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,939
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14621541
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fluffypanda/pseuds/Fluffypanda
Summary: Steve hits the road with an eight year old Tony Stark.





	been down this road more than twice (Every Day Is a Winding Road)

**Author's Note:**

  * For [ifdragonscouldtalk](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ifdragonscouldtalk/gifts).



> I wrote this for [Avenging Comes in Tiny Packages](http://ifdragonscouldtalk.tumblr.com/post/169674754392/contest-avenging-comes-in-tiny-packages). It's not quite as...long as I hoped, but I am very tired and very stressed at this point, so hopefully it's somewhat enjoyable.

“We need to go,” Cap said from where he was kneeling in front of the blanket fort while Tony blinked sleepily at him. Standing up, He reached into a bag, one of three he carried with him and pulled out a bundle of clothes. “Get dressed. I’ll go help Bruce make us some breakfast for the road.”

Tony’s heart sank at Cap’s brusque tone. Did he do something wrong? Why did Cap wake him in the middle of the night? Where were they going?

Seeing the look on Tony’s face, Cap sighed and ruffled Tony’s hair. “We’re just going on a little trip, that’s all. Just you and me.”

Tony couldn’t help but grin at the idea of him going on an adventure with Captain America and fighting bad guys in the future. It sounded just like a story out of the comics.

As soon as Cap was out of sight, Tony pulled the first piece of clothing from the bundle and shook out the dark blue shirt out to reveal Cap’s shield emblazoned across the front. With a squeal of delight, he whipped off the too large shirt he’d been wearing and wriggled into this new one.

Finished changing, Tony crept out to the kitchen to find the smell of frying bacon wafting through the air. Cap stood at the stove, minding two different pans. Tony stood on his tippy-toes, hoping to see what was for breakfast, but he didn’t have much luck.

“Morning,” Bruce greeted from behind the counter where he was cutting up fruit to put in a blender.

“Clint helped me pack a bag for you.” Cap said, nodding over his shoulder to the pile of bags left near the elevator, the smallest of which was brightly colored. “Do you think you can handle carrying it?”

Tony frowned. A cartoonish version of Cap and some other people leaped around a stylized “A” on the front of the backpack. If Tony were to describe it in one word, it would be childish. Tony looked down at his new shirt, suddenly embarrassed by his enthusiasm. Cap probably thought he was such a baby.

“I can carry a bigger one,” Tony said, although he wasn’t too sure. Licking his lips, he pointed to the larger grey-on-black backpack beside the one clearly intended for him. “One like that. You don’t need to give me a baby backpack.”

Cap looked up from the frying pans and blinked rapidly. “Give you a—? Tony, you are only carrying what  _ you _ need, toiletries and a few changes of clothes. Everything else is mine, which is why I’m carrying it.”

Fists balled up by his sides, Tony bit his lip to keep from crying, it’d just prove he was a baby after all. “But—”

“You always try to take on more than you need to. Let me shoulder this for once, okay?”

Shuffling his feet, Tony nodded. Of course Cap didn’t need Tony’s help. He was probably just getting in the way, like when he tried to help Dad. It seemed like his older self was the same.

No one had really said much about Tony as a grown-up, and he had a really hard time picturing it. He kept picturing someone like Dad, all business suits and cigars. He wondered if he learned to like the taste of scotch. It tasted like furniture polish to him, but adults were supposed to like stuff like that.

Cap moved the contents of the frying pans over to the counter, working in silence before producing several foil-wrapped packages and putting them in a paper bag. Hand clenching the edge of his shirt, Tony stood there watching him with a creeping feeling of uselessness. The “ding” of the elevator interrupted Tony’s train of thought, making him jump and whip his head around to gawk.

A second later Clint stepped out, sparing only a brief glance at Tony before turning to Cap. “The car’s ready. I’ve got it in the garage.”

Tony sidled away, back toward the kitchen. Yesterday, Clint had seemed nice, always keeping a goofy smile on his face and joking about something. He helped Tony build the fort in the living room. But now he wasn’t smiling at all.

Leaving the paper bag at the counter, Cap strode past Tony, giving him a quick pat, and gathered up the bags. He handed that tiny, colorful backpack to Tony. Clint helped Cap, carefully shouldering one of the bags with a soft grunt. Tony frowned at the bandage that he now noticed was covering Clint’s upper left arm.

This was more than a little trip; something else was going on that no one wanted to tell Tony about. They thought Tony was just a little kid who couldn’t handle scary stuff, stuff that got people hurt.

Cap’s voice, soft and coaxing, pulled Tony’s attention away from the bandage. “I’ll come get you when we’re done loading the car. Then we’ll head out, okay?”

Tony wanted to tell him to stop pretending, that Tony knew about scary things, about guns, blindfolds, and people who didn’t care if they hurt you, but his voice caught in his throat. Eventually, he nodded, squeezing the backpack tight, but Cap was already gone.

“You should probably go to the bathroom before Steve gets back. You’re going to be on the road for a while,” Bruce said over the rhythmic chopping of fruit.

Part of Tony wound a little bit tighter at that, like the strings on a violin, but he scampered off to the bathroom like Bruce suggested, that dumb backpack still hugged tight to his chest. Once he got there, he put it up on the counter next to the sink.

Cap stared down at him from the bag. He had an encouraging smile as he tossed his shield, like he had every confidence that he’d beat the bad guys. He might not be wearing the uniform, but that’s who was downstairs, getting ready to go on a trip with Tony. The greatest hero ever known. A legend.

No matter what happened, he had Captain America on his side. The tension in Tony’s chest loosened by a degree, allowing him to breathe out. He hadn’t noticed his hands were shaking until they had stopped.

By the time he got back, Bruce had scrapped the last of the fruit off the cutting board and into the blender. It whirred noisily, blending the strawberries, pineapple, and banana with yogurt in a colorful blur. Tony peered up onto the counter on his tippy-toes to watch it.

Bruce looked at him strangely, his mouth curving slightly downwards, not quite into a frown, but not exactly neutral either. He turned the blender off.

“I’m sorry. I should have…”Bruce trailed off with a shake of his head. Tony looked at him askance, feeling as if he missed something. He got the uncomfortable sense that Bruce wasn’t really talking to him. “Never mind. You’re just so small, and I…” He sighed.

“I’m not that small! I’m almost four feet!” Tony said. Two inches away was almost four feet, right?

Pouring the content of the blender into plastic cups and popping lids on them, Bruce said, “Four feet, huh? I guess I’m just used to you being a little taller than me.”

“Am I as tall as Cap?”

“Not quite,” Bruce said with a chuckle. “Were you hoping you’d have him beat?”

“No, I just thought—well, if we were the same height, maybe it wouldn’t be weird to stand next him, like we were on the same level or something. It’s dumb.”

“Tony, you’re not—”

“Ready to go?” Cap called from the elevator.

Tony looked up at Bruce, who took the bag from the counter, its brown paper already turning translucent with grease, and handed it to Tony with the cups. He ruffled Tony’s hair before waving him off. It was kind of nice. His hand was big and warm, completely different from his mom’s or Jarvis’ when they stroked his hair.

“Coming, Cap!” Tony shouted back.

Quietly, Bruce said, “Stay safe, Tony.”

Down in the garage the car was waiting for them and for the first time it really struck Tony that he really was in the future.

The car was all rounded curves and dark glass, almost like something out of a futuristic comic book—but it looked old, worn. The white finish was scuffed and rust dotted the hubcaps. Unlike all the wonders of the tower, of Bruce’s lab, it wasn’t the shiny new future Tony would dream of.

Tony bit his lip. A million questions ran through his head, threatening to burst out. Tony knew adults kept secrets. He didn’t want Cap to think he stuck his nose where it didn’t belong, not after he trusted him enough to take him on an adventure with him.

Cap didn’t wait for Tony to finish staring. He relieved Tony of the food and opened the car door for him. “Hop in.”

Tony only hesitated a second before climbing into the back seat. He immediately peeked into the front of the car, amazed by all the lights and dials up there. He pressed a button on the door and the window began to roll down.

“Okay, I need you to settle down.”

Tony sat back in his seat. “Sorry.”

“It’s alright,” Cap said as he helped Tony take off his backpack.

After helping Tony get settled, Cap tucked one of the smoothie cups in a cup holder for him and gave him one of the foil packages from the bag. “Eat up. We’re gonna be on the road for a while.”

Tony accepted the food with a twist of shame. He was being treated like such a baby.

As they pulled out of the garage, he pulled back the foil to reveal a breakfast sandwich. He didn’t feel hungry at all, but he tried to eat it anyway between sips of his smoothie.

By the time Tony forced down the sandwich, Steve had gotten them on the highway, where eventually the city’s buildings gave way to trees. They whipped down the road, headlights blazing in the night.

The whine of the car’s engine soon began to drown out Tony’s thoughts, and he found his head nodding. The first fingers of dawn were creeping over the horizon when he finally dozed off.

»»————-　　————-««

The car rolled to a stop and the hum of the engine cut out, jolting Tony awake. In a haze, he looked around, wondering with a stab of panic why he was in a car of all places instead his bed in the school dorm.

“Rise and shine,” Cap said, unbuckling his seat belt.

Just like that, Tony’s racing heart slowed and he came fully conscious.

Tony craned his neck to look out the window, but he mostly saw other cars. “Where are we?”

“Rest stop.” Cap fished a couple of hats out of the glove compartment, reaching back to pull one over Tony’s head. “I thought we could stretch our legs a bit, get some lunch.”

Cap grabbed the backpack from the seat and handed it to Tony, before getting out of the car. In his eagerness to get out, Tony fumbled with the seat belt for a second. When he was finally free, he swung the backpack on, though he was still embarrassed by its bright childishness, and raced off.

Outside, a row of picnic tables dominated a grassy area set back from the parking lot. A family had spread out a meal at one of the tables, taking advantage of a tree’s shade. Tony caught up to Cap on the path that led off to the side, where a dingy building labeled “Welcome Center” sat.

After a quick trip to the bathroom, they dropped by the convenience store. Tony looked around wide-eyed, almost dizzy taking it all in. Snacks with unfamiliar names like Smartfood and SunChips lined the shelves. Even the packaging of the foods Tony recognized, such as Doritos and Oreos, looked subtly different. He’d never have thought  _ snacks _ would change so much.

He looked at all of them, but oddly enough what caught his eye were the notebooks, thick spiral-bound ones not much different from the ones he used at school. Tony’s hand hovered over one for a second before he snatched it back. He couldn’t ask Cap to buy it for him.

Tony startled when Cap reached past him to pick up the notebook and a pack of pencils. He shot Tony a grin and moved on.

Cap stopped at a display of sandwiches and glanced at Tony. “Hungry?”

Tony shook his head. Food didn’t sound appealing in the least.

“Well, it’s still a bit early for lunch,” Cap said. “How about we grab something and eat it on the road?”

Cap seemed to expect Tony to say something, so he mumbled, “Okay.”

A few minutes later, Cap headed up to the register with a huge armful of sandwiches and Tony’s notebook. As soon as they were all paid for, the sandwiches went in a bag and Tony was handed the notebook.

Instead of leaving, like Tony expected, Cap headed directly for the shelves of brochures.

Before Tony could ask what they were doing, he felt a hand at his shoulder. Cap shook his head and began to thumb through them, loudly debating the merits of one attraction or another, leaving Tony to wonder why they were looking at advertisements for waterparks and day spas. With not much else to do, Tony searched the shelf for something unusual.

There was a small intake of breath when Cap came across one that didn’t fit—a postcard for Amherst, Ohio tucked between some maps. Something had been written on the back, but Tony didn’t get a chance to read it before Cap tucked it away, satisfied. They headed back to the car with their bags and a pile of brochures in hand.

»»————-　　————-««

Tony had filled several pages of his notebook with schematics and notes by the time Cap finally pulled into a plaza a short way off the highway. He parked the car in an empty corner of the lot.

Sighing deeply, he scrubbed his face with both hands before turning to look at Tony. “We gotta stop here for a bit. Take your backpack with you.”

“Got it.” Tony shouldered his backpack and grabbed his notebook. He hopped out of the car, clumsily pushing the door shut behind him. Cap waited a few feet away his own bag slung over his shoulder, stretching his muscles after the long car ride.

The sun had begun to dip below the horizon, casting everything in an orange glow and stretching their shadows across the pavement as they walked to the door of Sal & Al’s diner.

Tony squinted as his eyes adjusted to the bright interior of the diner. A sign asking them to seat themselves stood a little ways from a salad bar and an ice cream case. Following Cap, Tony looked around at the big round Coca-Cola sign, electric guitars, and other colorful decorations strewn over the clean white walls. Bubbly light fixtures hung over the diners in vinyl seating, mostly old people, though there were a few parents with kids.

They seated themselves in the corner, with Cap facing the door. He kept looking at it out of the corner of his eye, only pulling his attention away when the waitress, a smiling lady about Aunt Peggy’s age, came over to give them water and menus.

After taking their drink order, her eyes fell to Tony’s backpack. “You got yourself a little Avengers fan there, huh? I guess he is that age. It’s cute until they grow out of it.”

Humiliated, Tony pushed the backpack deeper into the corner of the booth and opened his notebook to the last page he’d been working on. All the lines on the page were horribly wobbly from the car’s movement.

She peered down at Tony’s open notebook. “What are you drawing there, sweetie?”

Tony glanced at Cap, who nodded encouragingly, before answering, “A design for rocket powered roller skates.”

Laughing like one Mom’s friends who thought Tony was just the cutest thing, she turned to Cap. “That’s a smart kid you got there. It’s so nice to see a father spending time with his son.”

Doing his best to ignore her too sweet tone, Tony neatened the lines of his sketch. Jarvis always told him he should be polite to adults, even when they were looking down on him. Tony thought it was funny because Dad was almost never polite if someone said something he didn’t want to hear.

“Smart doesn’t even cover it.” Cap smiled at the waitress. “You should see the stuff he builds.”

“Look how proud of you he is. You’re a lucky kid to have a father like that.” Tony looked down, his cheeks heating. Dad was never like that, so it was kind of nice even if Cap wasn’t really Tony’s dad. The waitress said, “I’ll be back after you’ve had some time to look over the menus.”

Whatever Cap was watching for hadn’t shown even after they ordered and the food arrived. He ate on autopilot, sipping his milkshake in between bites of his burger and fries.

Tony picked at his meal despondently, having never really worked up an appetite in the first place. He hadn’t even taken more than a few bites of his sandwich from the rest stop either. There was so much that he wanted to say – to ask, but he didn’t know if he could. He didn’t want to annoy Cap by asking too many questions.

Cap’s gaze slid over to Tony, and he frowned. “You don’t like your food?”

“I’m not really hungry.”

“We could get it to go. The fries are pretty good,” Cap said, stuffing a few in his mouth.

Tony picked up a fry and nibbled on it. Cap smiled and Tony took another. They  _ were _ pretty good.

After a second he asked, “What happened to Clint’s arm?”

The smile dropped off Cap’s face. “Should have known you’d notice that.” He stared off into the distance, over Tony’s head, deep in thought, before he finally let out a resigned sigh. “He got hurt fighting someone that broke into the tower.”

“Did they want me?” Tony hid his hands under the table, gripping the hem of his shirt so they wouldn’t shake.

“What makes you think that?”

“A lot of people think if they have me, they can get money or make people do stuff.” They were wrong. It never worked out for them, their first mistake was thinking Howard Stark listened to demands.

“We thought it’d be safer for you—” Cap cut himself off and his gaze snapped back to the door.

Tony peeked over his shoulder to see what he was looking at. Walking towards the table was familiar face. Her blazing red hair was covered by a hoodie, but Tony recognized Natasha as she slipped into the booth next to him.

She bumped her shoulder into Tony’s and asked, “Hey, Зайчик. How’s the trip been?”

“Good,” Tony mumbled, feeling a little guilty for liking Natasha. It was probably fine because she was friends with Cap, but Tony couldn’t help but remember everything people said about Russian spies.

“I was beginning to think you might not be coming,” Cap said, resting his folded hands on the table.

“I’m a busy woman,” Natasha said, rolling her eyes. “You haven’t even finished your food.”

“The postcard said seven,” Cap replied. He frowned and took a huge bite of his hamburger, polishing it off as if to make a point.

“I found out who our little red riding hood was.” She pulled a plain cream file from her bag along with a wallet thick with cash and a small silver device that looked like a cross between a pager and a communicator from Star Trek. “She’s been giving Rhodes the run around, but, well—see for yourself.”

Burger still in hand, Cap pocketed the wallet and the device and began flipping through the file. The ketchup made a run for it and slopped back down to the plate while Cap scowled at the pages in front of him.

“Is this true?” Cap flipped the folder’s cover closed with a frown.

Natasha leveled Cap a look as she reached over to grab his milkshake. He looked back down at the folder like he tasted something sour. “So that’s why you wanted to meet here.”

He started to rise from his seat, and then paused. With a nod towards Tony, he said, “Do you mind?”

Natasha shrugged and stole a few of Cap’s remaining fries. “Not at all.”

“Natasha is going to stay with you for a little bit. I’ll be back soon, Tony. Okay?” He reached over to squeeze Tony’s hand.

Tony nodded, and Cap was gone, file and all, before Tony could work up the courage to ask where he was going.

They hardly told him anything. Everyone seemed so nice after he woke up in the lab, well, once he realized they weren’t kidnappers anyway. They listened to him, wanted to do things with him, and didn’t care about his dad. He thought going on adventure with Cap meant they trusted him, but he was just being babysat.

“Are you going to eat that?”

Tony shook his head and pushed the plate over to her.

“What’s on your mind, Зайчик?” she said as she took a bite of one of Tony’s chicken tenders.

Tony shifted uncomfortably in his seat. “Future me, is he…”

“Is he what?”

“I don’t know. You told me we’re all friends and live in that tower together. I just wondered if that meant I ever went on missions and stuff with Cap.”

“All the time. You’re not exactly one to stay on the sidelines.”

“Really? Do I have a gun?”

She handed Tony back one of his chicken tenders. “Even better. You have a suit of armor.”

“Like a knight’s?” Tony asked, taking the chicken from her.

“Sort of. Let me see your backpack.” Stuffing the chicken in his mouth, Tony dragged it over and she pointed to the red and yellow robot zooming towards the top of the bag. “This is you.”

“Cool!”

“You like knights?” Natasha tilted her head interestedly. A faint smile played at her lips as she continued eating.

Tony nodded and took another piece of chicken from Natasha. “The library at school has Mort D’Arthur, I’ve checked it out more than anybody else. The Knights of the Round Table have this code of honor that means they always help people that need it. They’re really brave!”

“Mort D’Arthur, huh?” she said, pulling something from her pocket, a device similar to the one she gave Cap. The inside had a little screen and a number pad which she used to type out a message.

“Is that a cellular mobile phone?” Tony asked, trying to get a better look. He’d heard about someone inventing a prototype, but the pictures in the magazine had looked pretty different.

She pressed a few more buttons and handed Tony the phone to look at. “It’s a bit of an older model, for when I don’t want people to listen in. My usual cell phone is much cooler, you designed it after all.”

“I make phones? Do a lot of people have them? Can you call people anywhere?”

“You make a lot of things. Most people have cell phones. I can call anyone as long as we’re both in range of a tower.”

Continuing their conversation, they finished Tony’s food together and Natasha ordered ice cream for them. The diner had flavors Tony never heard of before like salty caramel truffle and peanut pretzel paradise. They traded bites of it while Natasha told him about the craziest ice cream flavors she’d ever seen.

Someone entered the diner just as Tony scrapped the last spoonful of ice cream from the dish.

“Cap!” Tony said, bouncing up in his seat.

Natasha turned to look at Cap. “How did it go?”

“They didn’t have it.”

“It was a long shot anyway. At least you got that taken care of.” Getting to her feet, Natasha shrugged. “I’ve got the bill.”

“Thanks.” Cap rubbed the back of his head. “Let’s go, Tony.”

“Take care,” Natasha said, crouching down to give Tony a brief hug.

Tony whispered his goodbyes, disappointed that she wouldn’t be coming with them. They left the diner while Natasha was paying, heading back on the road.

 

»»————- ————-««

Outside the diner Steve stopped and turned to Tony. He seemed hesitant, running one hand through his hair before opening his mouth to speak.

“I got this for you.” Steve pulled a book from one of his bags. “I know it must be boring sitting in the car all day with me.”

It was Le Mort D’Arthur. Tony ran his fingers over the black-and-white cover, tracing the outlines of the flowers reverently.

“I hope—well, Natasha said it was your favorite, but maybe you’ve already read it too many times. I should have—”

Tony threw his arms around him and hugged him. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.” He ruffled Tony’s hair.

Tony kept the book clutched to his chest all the way back to the car. He dug through his backpack until his hand closed around the cool plastic of his flashlight, wasting no time cracking the book open to take in the familiar words.

He read until his eyes began to drift closed, the flashlight slipping from his hand. He was still struggling to keep them open when they finally stopped for the night. It was a long squat building with lights illuminating a series of doors and windows. Cap pulled the car right up to one of them and fished a card out of the wallet Natasha gave to him.

The room contained two beds, a beat-up tv and not much else. Tony stumbled sleepily towards the bathroom with Cap’s guiding hand on his back. Using the set of toiletries that Cap fished from Tony’s backpack along with pajamas, Tony got ready for bed.

“Thanks, Cap,” Tony said through a yawn. He squirmed under his bed’s covers. “You’re the best.”

“Can you call me Steve?”

Tony sat up a little, rubbing his eyes. “Cap?”

“My friends call me Steve,” Cap looked at Tony beseechingly as he said it, voice soft.

“Good night, Steve,” Tony squeaked, rolling over to bury his face in a pillow. He was friends with Captain America, no,  _ Steve _ .

Tony heard the creak of the other bed’s springs and the sound of sheets being rearranged. “Good night, Tony.”

But Tony was no longer tired. So much had happened since he’d woken up in the future that it hardly felt like only a day had passed. Meeting Bruce, Captain America—Steve, Clint, and Natasha, finding out he was in the future, that he was some sort of modern knight, it seemed so impossible when just the day before he was hiding from bullies in the library.

Every time he woke up, part of him thought he’d be back at the academy, but this future was feeling more and more real—and it was his. Or his grown-up self’s anyway. It was pretty much the same thing, he just needed to show Cap that, then he might finally stop treating Tony like a baby.

Tony waited until Cap’s breathing evened out and he could be sure he was asleep. Careful to make as little noise as possible, he slipped out of bed. Enough light filtered in from outside for Tony to see by, allowing him to creep past Cap’s bed without bumping into anything.

The edge of the file peeked out of Cap’s open bag, shining bright with secrets. Once he read it, he’d prove he could handle whatever everyone was keeping from him. Pulling it free, Tony settled in the light of the window to read.

At first the pages were a bunch of unfamiliar names and faces, many with accompanying lists of crimes, and then there came pictures of boxes being unloaded from a truck. The last page was a list of companies owned by Hammer Industries. One was highlighted: The US Steel Corporation, with a branch located in Ohio – was that were Cap went while Tony stayed with Natasha?

All of this had something to do with the person that hurt Clint. They must have broken into the tower to take something and Rhodes, whoever that was, must be trying to get it back. But why—

“Tony!?” Cap gasped, kicking the sheets away. He was halfway to his feet when his eyes landed on Tony. The whites of his eyes shined brightly in the dark. “You weren’t in bed. I thought— it doesn’t matter. Just—back to bed.”

“Sorry,” Tony said, for some reason his voice quivered. He didn’t know what he’d do if Cap was angry.

Lips pursed, Steve came over and crouched in front of Tony. He took the file from Tony’s hands. Tony did stop him. He couldn’t place exactly why, but he thought Cap,  _ Steve _ , might be scared.

“You were reading this?” He asked, looking down at the file. He looked back up at Tony with a shaky smile. “Of course you were. When do you not take a chance to snoop around?”

“Why did we leave New York?” Tony’s words tumbled out in a rush, as if they didn’t come out now, he’d choke on them.

“I’m just trying to keep you safe.” Steve said, pulling Tony to his feet. “Come on, back to bed.”

**Author's Note:**

> Sorry about that ending, it was either that or probably never finish this thing.
> 
> Please let me know what you thought!


End file.
